​Whoa! That sums up our flash reaction to Shad Khan's "Dubai on the St. Johns" proposal to develop the Northbank Shipyards property, an epic vision that could well cost $1 billion or more to pull off as presented.

​At this writing, we are waiting to find out if it is safe enough to send divers under the pier that collapsed in Downtown Jacksonville to get a better look at the extent of the damage. That's right, the city has sent in an underwater robot to see if it's safe to send in divers to check the condition of the pier pilings built out over the river 50 years ago. This does not instill confidence.

​The collapse of the riverfront portion of Liberty Street in Downtown Jacksonville last weekend is the long-term result of a failure of a city to anticipate and plan ahead that endangers the very priorities it claims to support — in this case, the redevelopment of Downtown Jacksonville.

We like to blow our horn about our growing high-tech scene in Northeast Florida and how we have made real strides in attracting innovators and entrepreneurs. And given what was going on here 10 years ago, there is merit in these observations.